1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for controlling presentation of information toward a human object.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is generally known, there is a push-type information presentation terminal that can autonomously present information while switching an information presentation method with reference to a situation of a person who is present in the neighborhood of the terminal. For example, a technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-309537 can present information at a location according to a moving direction of a person or the speed of the movement. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-113711 discusses a technique for determining data to be displayed for a person considering an appearance of a person or a locus of the movement. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-265125 discusses a technique for determining a content to be displayed according to the number of persons who are watching an information display unit.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-277097 discusses a technique for controlling a display size or a sound volume of information to be output based on a distance between an information output unit and a person or based on a movement of the person. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-176510 discuses a technique for selecting information to be displayed based on an action of a person who is present in front of an information display screen. When the above-described conventional techniques are employed, a push-type information presentation terminal can present information with content, location, size, and sound volume, relating to a person in the neighborhood of the terminal.
However, in a case where the amount of information presented by the information presentation terminal is excessive, even if the information is appropriate in content, presentation layout, and sound volume for a situation of a person in the neighborhood of the terminal, the person may not be able to catch the entire information or may be interrupted in acquiring information. On the contrary, in a case where the amount of information presented by the information presentation terminal is too little, even if the information is appropriate in content, location, size, and sound volume for a situation of a person in the neighborhood of the terminal, the person's desire for information may not be satisfied.
With respect to such a situation, a technique discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3565288 determines a priority level based on the time elapsed since reception of information by an information presentation terminal and a degree of interest in each genre that can be designated by an information receiver, and presents the information according to the determined priority level. When the above-described technique is employed, the amount of information to be presented can be controlled according to the feature (e.g., generation date and time and genre) of the information.
However, the criterion for determining whether to increase or decrease the amount of information to be presented is not limited to the feature of the information. For example, the length of time a person can stay in the neighborhood of the information presentation terminal can be used as a criterion for determining whether to increase or decrease the amount of information. If a person (i.e., an information receiver) can stay only for a short time in the neighborhood of the information presentation terminal, the information receiver may feel that there is a great amount of information if the receiver cannot grasp the entire information at a glance even when the genre of the information is interesting. On the contrary, if a person (i.e., an information receiver) is required to stay for a relatively long time in the neighborhood of the information presentation terminal, the information receiver may feel that there is a small amount of information if the amount of the information is insufficient even when the genre of the information is not interesting.
Similarly, how a person who receives information focuses on an activity other than acquisition of information can be used as a criterion for determining whether to increase or decrease the amount of information. Even in such a situation that interesting information is presented from an information presentation terminal, if the information receiver is busy to talk with a friend or apply make-up, the information receiver may feel that the amount of information is excessive when the information receiver cannot grasp the entire information at a glance. More specifically, the situation (e.g., the length of time or the degree of concentration in the reception of the presented information) of the information receiver is one of the factors to be considered in determining whether to increase or decrease the amount of information.